Google expanding space in Fulton Market, this time with a flagship store

Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune

The intersection of West Randolph and North Peoria streets is seen Aug. 16, 2018, in Chicago's Fulton Market district. Google is planning to open a flagship retail store at this location.

The intersection of West Randolph and North Peoria streets is seen Aug. 16, 2018, in Chicago's Fulton Market district. Google is planning to open a flagship retail store at this location. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)

Google is planning a two-level store in Chicago’s Fulton Market district, its first known location for a retail flagship.

The technology giant is close to finalizing a lease for almost 14,000 square feet on the first and second floors of several connected, two-story brick buildings between 845 and 853 W. Randolph St., according to sources.

If completed as expected, Google’s deal will represent another milestone in the evolution of the longtime meatpacking district west of the Kennedy Expressway, where Google already has its Midwest office headquarters and more than 900 employees.

To date, Google’s only retail spaces have been pop-up stores and small shops within other stores.

But technology and retail experts have long speculated that the Mountain View, Calif.-based behemoth will create its own permanent stores to showcase the company’s growing list of electronic products. The list now include smartphones, tablets, thermostats, home security systems and Google Home — the company’s version of Amazon Echo.

Google has yet to confirm plans for long-term shops, and no locations have been reported in any other cities.

The 800 block of West Randolph Street in Chicago is seen Aug. 16, 2018. Google is planning to open a two-level flagship retail store at this location, near West Randolph Street and North Peoria Street.

The 800 block of West Randolph Street in Chicago is seen Aug. 16, 2018. Google is planning to open a two-level flagship retail store at this location, near West Randolph Street and North Peoria Street. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)

Newcastle acquired the Randolph Street buildings in 2016 as part of a portfolio of buildings in the area that had been owned by businesswoman Sue Gin. Newcastle bought the properties on and around Randolph from the estate of Gin, the Flying Food Group founder who died in 2014.

Newcastle President and CEO Michael Haney declined to comment.

Google’s lease will include former spaces of longtime area restaurants Jaipur and Perez.

Behind the connected buildings, an alley forms a pedestrian walkway between Peoria and Green streets. The property is directly across the street from the Nobu Hotel that is under construction.

Google knows the neighborhood well. Its planned retail flagship is about two blocks south of the company’s Midwest headquarters at 1000 W. Fulton Market. The Tribune in June reported that Google plans to add more than 100,000 square feet of office space in the area, including some street-level space in the 1KFulton building.

Google’s offices have played a major role in Fulton Market’s transformation from a gritty meatpacking and food wholesale hub to an in-demand home for restaurants, residential towers, major offices — including McDonald’s new headquarters —and hotels such as the Soho House, Ace and Nobu. National retailers such as Lululemon and Anthropologie also have moved in, but a Google flagship is likely to elevate Fulton Market’s stature as a retail destination.

Google’s lease could burnish Chicago’s reputationas a place for large companies to plunge into retail.

Chicago is also one of the first known cities where Amazon plans to open cashierless stores. In June, the Tribune reported Amazon Go stores are planned in Willis Tower and in the lower concourse of an office building connected to Ogilvie Transportation Center.